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President Murthy Renduchintala, hired only last fall and reportedly the author of a memo criticizing Intel's execution and calling for changes in its R&D approach, will give CEO Brian Krzanich a proposal on which products to keep and which to divest. There are many possibilities here.

Meanwhile, Intel strongly hints many of its job cuts will hit the Client Computing Group (PC/mobile CPUs) as it contends with weak PC sales and tries to further cut mobile losses. And the company's decision to move CFO Stacy Smith to a new role covering manufacturing, sales, and operations is fueling speculation Smith is in line to succeed Brian Krzanich as CEO.

Intel's actual earnings release was a mixed bag. Q1 EPS topped estimates with the help of gross margin strength and a low tax rate, and rising PC CPU ASPs helped offset soft PC demand. In addition, with desktop and notebook CPUs volumes down just 4% and 2% Y/Y respectively (Gartner/IDC estimate PC sales were down more sharply), it looks like Intel grabbed more share from AMD Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), even after accounting for an extra week. IoT Group (embedded CPU) and security sales were also strong points, rising 22% and 12%, respectively.

On the other hand, Q2 guidance was below consensus and full-year guidance slightly cut. In addition, Data Center Group (DCG - server CPU division) sales rose only 9% Y/Y, once more missing Intel's 15% 2014-2018 CAGR target. On the call, Intel noted cloud and telecom DCG strength was offset by enterprise softness (partly the result of cloud adoption hurting traditional IT spend). The company expects to see "double-digit" 2016 DCG growth. Also: Intel's flash memory ops (broken out for the first time) saw a 6% revenue decline and recorded a $95M op. loss; industry price pressure is blamed.

VMware jumps on Q1 beat, strong Q2 guidance, $1.2B buyback - Much like IBM, VMware (NYSE:VMW) is trying to offset declines in traditional businesses vulnerable to cloud adoption by investing in several growth areas. Unlike IBM, the market is giving a thumbs-up to the company's latest update on its turnaround efforts. The server virtualization giant beat Q1 estimates and provided strong Q2 guidance on its earnings slides: Revenue of $1.66B-1.71B (+4%-7% Y/Y) and EPS of $0.94-0.97, versus a consensus of $1.66B and $0.94. Full-year guidance is in line.